A Simple Decision
by azkabcn
Summary: After Roxy's dad, Rick, is involved in a car crash, Roxy can't make herself decide whether or not to turn the life support machine off. When Andy comes to see her, she makes him decide for her. But this is more than a simple yes or no decision. Someone's life depends on it. One-shot, done for the 10 Characters, 10 Prompts Challenge.


**A/N: Something else for the 10 Characters/10 Prompts Challenge. Enjoy.**

 **Character: Andy, Prompt: Yes Or No**

* * *

I woke up feeling something big would happen today. I laid still for a second, trying to figure out what it was. I couldn't.

Sighing, I flung the covers off and sat on the edge of my bed. I ran a hand through my mop of black hair, trying to get it to look at least somewhat presentable.

I took my phone from my nightstand and pressed the 'on' button. And instantly my face broke out into a smile. There was a text from Roxy, my very faithful girlfriend. Roxy had been going through some tough times lately; she and her dad had just had their fifth argument of the week yesterday.

And yet, she managed to always find time for me. Even though she could get very hot headed, she had the ability to push her anger and sadness to the back of her head when she wanted to. I loved her for that.

But this morning, her text worried me: _Not going to be at the Frutti Music Bar today. Something came up. See you tomorrow? x_

I sucked in a breath. What had 'come up'? Why couldn't she see me? It wasn't that I wanted to see her for my own selfish reasons (well. Not majorly anyway.) but because when I saw her, I had the benefit of knowing that she was OK. That she wasn't yet at breaking point.

I didn't know what to do. Should I text her to find out what was wrong? Or should I call? I decided to call her. I could find out more if I heard her voice.

I dialled her number and put the phone to my ear. Waiting. It got to the seventh ring and I thought she wasn't going to answer, but finally I heard her voice. "Andy?" she whispered. I had the feeling she was crying. That only made it worse.

"Roxy? What's wrong? Are you OK?" I asked hastily.

"Dad…" she whispered again.

Uh oh. That wasn't good. "What's he done, Roxy?" My voice came out firmer than I had wanted.

"He's… he's only gone and… and got himself in a… in a car crash…"

Oh god. "What? How?" I asked her. Then I changed my mind. "Wait, where are you?"

"At the hospital. They've… got him on… on life support. They very nearly lost him. They say there's a small chance he'll survive." And then she broke down.

"Roxy!" I yelled. "I'm coming!"

I hung up and threw my phone onto my bed. I grabbed a shirt and jeans from my wardrobe and threw them on. I picked my phone up from my bed and opened my bedroom door.

I ran down the stairs, calling, "Ben! Tell Mum I'm going to the hospital! Roxy's dad's in there!"

Ben was my younger brother. "Alright! See you later!" he called back.

I stuffed my feet into my trainers and took my car keys from the hook.

* * *

I parked the car at the hospital and jumped out. I practically _ran_ into the main hospital wing. Breathless, I steadied myself at the counter, trying to get my breath back.

They guy at the counter raised an eyebrow. "You OK there, son?" he asked, sitting on the chair.

I nodded. "Yes thanks. I'm fine."

"What can I do for you, buddy?"

"Rick Lewis. Where's Rick Lewis?"

"Are you a relative?"

"His daughter's my girlfriend. I need to see if she's OK."

He shook his head. "Sorry, buddy. I can only let immediate family in there," he said.

Drat. "Please. She needs me. Last time I spoke to her she broke down," I pleaded.

Then another female receptionist spoke up. "Tom, just let him see her. I saw the girl when I went past the ICU. She looked terrible," she said. Then she turned to me. "Sorry. I meant that she was in a mess of tears."

I tried to smile lightly. "It's fine. Where are they?" I failed.

"The Intensive Care Unit. Third floor, second corridor on the right, fourth door in. Stairs and lifts are through there." She gestured to a door.

"Alright. Thanks."

And then I was off. I followed the woman's directions and found myself outside a door with a sign written clearly on it: INTENSIVE CARE UNIT. I knew I was in the right place.

I looked inside and saw Roxy, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her back was facing me; I didn't know if she was crying. I opened the door slowly. "Roxy?" I said softly.

She turned to face me and then she ran. Her arms went round my neck as she wept. I held her waist, sighing softly. I let her cry, keeping myself silent until she finished. I kissed the top of her head, feeling my heart break at seeing her like this.

"Andy…" she whispered.

"Yeah?" I asked. I pushed her away gently and studied her. That receptionist was right. She _was_ a mess of tears. I used my thumb to wipe the tears that had fallen. Her face was red and puffy. Her eyes were bloodshot. Tear stains lined her cheeks.

"They asked me if I wanted to turn the machine off. I didn't know what to say. They said they'll come back later to find out my decision. What do I do?"

I sat her on the bed and put myself next to her. "I don't know, Rox," I said as I ran my hand through my hair. "When did it happen?"

She shook her head. "We had another argument last night, after the one I told you about." Argument number six. "He said if I wasn't happy with how he was raising me, then I could just leave. Then I said that I was happy staying where I was. Then he said that that was fine. He'd leave. He took his keys, but left his phone.

"I sat up all night, thinking he seriously wasn't going to come back, then at four in the morning, I got a call from the hospital saying how half an hour ago, this lorry from the other side of the road swerved to avoid a cat, _a cat_ , and he collided with Dad. I texted you at seven, knowing I'd either wake you up or you wouldn't receive it until late. They said to me at half eight that they had a feeling that he wasn't going to pull through, and that if I was OK with it, they'd turn the life support off."

"Oh god, Roxy," I sighed.

She rested her head on my shoulder. "What should I say, Andy? Tell me what to say to them. I know we've had tons of arguments these past few months, but this isn't where I wanted to leave it. I wanted to patch things up."

I sighed, my arms going to hug her. "It's not my decision, love," I told her. "I can't tell them to do anything."

"Then tell me. I'll tell them. Andy, I want you to make this decision for me. I can't do it myself."

"No." Even if she was telling me to do this, I couldn't. I couldn't tell the doctors to kill my girlfriend's father. I just couldn't.

And then she kissed me. She kissed me hard, like she was trying to get a point across. Like she was telling me she trusted me, whatever I chose to do. I kissed her back. Her hands rested on my shoulders. The kiss deepened, and I felt it was turning into more of a distraction.

I broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Make the decision, Andy. I won't get mad at you," she told me.

I felt like I had no choice. _I_ was the one having to make this decision. It was a simple yes or no question. Not. This wasn't simple; Roxy's dad was going to die if I said yes. Roxy was going to break. All Rick's friends and family were going to hate me.

I was leaning towards no, but then I felt that if I said no, Rick would be in way more pain. This was hard for him. I knew that Roxy, no matter what she was saying, was leaning towards turning it off. She just didn't want to admit it to herself that she was letting her dad die. She didn't want to be the one who said yes.

"Fine," I sighed. "I say we turn it off. If he's not going to make it through, then what's the point of keeping him on it?"

She hugged me. "Thank you, Andy. Thank you for doing this. It helped."

* * *

We told them to turn it off. Roxy, like I predicted, cried buckets. I felt I should've told them to keep the machine on. What started off as a simple decision for Rick to leave the house, turned into an intense battle. A battle that we had no way of winning.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for making it this far, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you all later! Cheerio!**


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